Carnitine and chromium co-supplementation affects mental health, hormonal, inflammatory, genetic, and oxidative stress parameters in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the co-administration of carnitine and chromium on mental health, hormonal, inflammatory and genetic parameters in women with PCOS. Methods: This randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted on 54 subjects, aged 18�40 years old. Subjects were randomly allocated to take either 1000 mg/d carnitine plus 200 µg/d chromium as chromium picolinate (n = 26) or placebo (n = 27) for 12 weeks. Results: Carnitine and chromium co-supplementation, compared with the placebo, significantly improved beck depression inventory (β � 0.84; 95 CI, �1.51, �0.17; p = 0.01), general health questionnaire scores (β � 1.13; 95 CI, �2.13, �0.14; p = 0.02) and depression anxiety and stress scale scores (β � 0.96; 95 CI, �0.78, �0.14; p = 0.02). Participants who received carnitine plus chromium supplements had significantly lower total testosterone (β � 0.15 ng/mL; 95 CI, �0.24, �0.06; p = 0.002), hirsutism (β � 0.48; 95 CI, �0.91, �0.06; p = 0.02), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (β � 1.02 mg/L; 95 CI, �1.79, �0.25; p = 0.01), and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels (β � 0.38 µmol/L; 95 CI, �0.56, �0.20; p < 0.001), and higher total antioxidant capacity (TAC) levels (β 107.18 mmol/L; 95 CI, 44.24, 170.12; p = 0.001) compared with the placebo. Moreover, carnitine and chromium co-supplementation upregulated gene expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) (p = 0.02) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) (p = 0.02) compared with the placebo. Conclusion: Overall, the co-administration of carnitine and chromium for 12 weeks to women with PCOS had beneficial effects on mental health parameters, serum total testosterone, mF-G scores, hs-CRP, TAC and MDA levels, and gene expression of IL-6 and TNF-α. © 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group